Spider Silk Inspired Functional\nMicrothreads

Abstract

We employ the adhesive web building strategy used by\nmodern orb-weaving\nspiders to produce functional microthreads that are similar in structure\n(beads-on-a-string (BOAS) morphology) and adhesive properties to the\ncapture-silk threads of the spider web. The diameter and spacing of\ndroplets (beads) are controlled by varying the viscosity, velocity,\nand surface tension of the coating fluid. Using these functional threads,\nwe also describe the behavior of the BOAS morphology during contact\n(mimicking the collision of an insect with the web) and during separation\n(mimicking insect rescue from the web). Our results show that the\nBOAS structure performs better than a cylindrical structure for adhesion,\nwhich may explain why this morphology is so prevalent in spider webs\ndespite the cost of increasing the visibility of the web.